Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Chimp Owner, "I Did Everything I Could Do"

Travis the chimp's owner owner Sandra Herold is speaking out. Two days after her longtime companion was shot by police after mauling her friend, 55-year-old Charla Nash, Herold, who slept with 200-pound chimp, described trying to save her friend by stabbing him with a butcher knife, reports the Associated Press. "I stabbed someone that I raised as a son. I did what I can do," Herold, of Travis, who she considered her son. "He would comb my hair; everything I did in the house was for him."

Meanwhile, the ordeal has primate activists outraged. Connecticut law prohibits exotic animals over 50 lbs., but somehow the 200-pound chimp was grandfathered in. “Beer commercials, soda commercials, you know, people watch the Super Bowl and think it’s terribly amusing to see primates in commercials,” F said, in an interview with WTNH TV in Stamford, CT. Feral blames it on the pet trade industry, saying a chimpanzee like Travis can be very lucrative. As a baby, he would’ve sold for about $30,000 and brought in much more for the work. At one time, Travis did star in commercials for Old Navy and Coca-Cola. Read the interview here.

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A long-time animal lover, Amy writes the weekly Critters column for the NY Daily News and reports on topics from animal issues to health and business for various publications. A graduate of Columbia Journalism School, she has a nose for news and sharing a good scoop. She's also passionate about animal welfare, and hopes to raise awareness of the plight of needy animals so more people will choose adoption over buying from pet stores. She lives in Greenwich Village with her rescued mutt Ruby, cats Sammy and Oscar in addition to her two-legged partner George.